President Obama has announced plans to spend tens of billions of dollars on a huge infrastructure project to create jobs and boost confidence in the American economy. Over the next six years, he said, tens of thousands of kilometres of highway would be rebuilt, and airports and air traffic control systems upgraded. Mr Obama said the plan would not only create jobs now but would make the US economy run better in the long term.

"Today, I am announcing a new plan for rebuilding and modernizing America's roads and rails and runways for the long term. I want America to have the best infrastructure in the world. We used to have the best infrastructure in the world. We can have it again. We are going to make it happen."